Fishing lures have been used by sport fishermen for many years for both commercial gain and enjoyment. To be a successful sport fisherman, requires a number of attributes including: skill, luck, and a knowledge of the habits and peculiarities of the specific fish being sought. With these attributes, the fisherman should also have at his disposal a good selection of fishing lures in a variety of sizes, colors and animated actions.
The art of fishing lures has progressed to a point where specific lures are designed to attract a specific specie of fish under a given set of environmental conditions. As part of the design criteria some lures are designed to operate best at specified water depths and are equipped with a variety of embellishments such as actual fish markings, fluorescent paint and light reflectors. In some instances, particularly when the lure is used at lower water depths, a light tube is attached to the fish line to further aide in attracting the fish to the lure. Such a light tube is manufactured by the American Cyanamid Company and is sold under the trademark LUNKER LIGHTS.
The light tube is comprised of a sealed resilient tube containing a chemical formulation. When the tube is bend, snapped and shaken a chemical reaction occurs that causes a light to be emitted for up to six hours. After the tube is glowing, it is attached to the fish line at selectable distances from the lure. When the light is depleted, the light tube is removed from the line and discarted.
A search of the prior art did not disclose any patents or publications that read on the claims of the instant invention. However, the following U.S. patents are provided to indicate the current state-of-the-art in artificial fishing lures.
______________________________________ U.S. PAT. NO. INVENTOR ISSUED ______________________________________ 4,349,979 Strantz 21 September 1982 4,345,399 Guzik 24 August 1982 4,337,591 Gell 6 July 1982 ______________________________________
The Strantz patent discloses a device for maintaining a live bait fish, such as a minnow, on a fishing member having barbs at one end and a plurality of transverse holes that permit a fish hook to be attached. The barbs lodge in the gills of the minnow causing the fish hook to be firmly attached to the minnow's mouth.
The Guzik patent discloses a sonic fishing lure employing a tubular body that defines a longitudinal flow-through chamber for the passing water. Within the chamber is a variable elastic member that can be altered to produce a variety of sonic effects as the lure is pulled through the water.
The Gell patent discloses a fishing lure comprised of a center body section having a fish hook connecting means, a plurality of interchangeable depth calibrated weights, and two body halves adapted to encase the center body section. A plurality of interchangeable clamps, such as bands, are provided to hold the two body halves together while the lure is being used.